Brock Lesnar holds the most lucrative contract in the WWE given that he’s the biggest box office attraction that the company has to offer. Three years ago, WWE started a tradition that allowed him and some other top superstars in the WWE to earn even more. From 2018 onwards, WWE started hosting shows in Saudi Arabia which are no less than Wrestlemania-caliber PPV events.
For each of these events, WWE general receives $50-$60 millions from the Saudi sports authority which includes the payments of their superstars. Three years ago, this week WWE hosted the first-ever Crown Jewel PPV in the middle-east country with Brock Lesnar being one of the major attractions of that night.
Brock Lesnar Fined $1 Million By WWE For Attack On Officials
On that night, The Beast Incarnate picked up his second Universal championship win by defeating Braun Strowman. 2-Time WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels also came out of retirement to compete in a tag team match at that PPV event.
According to The Dirty Sheets patreon page, Saudi Arabia officials paid WWE $60 million for Crown Jewel 2018 show. Out of this $60 million, $40 million was spent for putting up the show, and $20 million was used for expenses (which included pay for talent).
The above-mentioned three talents were the three top draws for the night who received an insane amount of salaries for performing on that night. You can check out the amounts as given below,
– Shawn Michaels: $3 Million
– Brock Lesnar: $3 Million
– The Undertaker: $2 Million
Brock Lesnar won Universal Title at Crown Jewel 2018
The full match card along with results for the inaugural Crown Jewel event goes as follows,
– Shinsuke Nakamura (c) defeated Rusev to retain the United States Championship on the Kickoff Show
– Rey Mysterio defeated Randy Orton in a WWE World Cup Quarterfinal match
– The Miz defeated Jeff Hardy in a WWE World Cup Quarterfinal match
– Seth Rollins defeated Bobby Lashley (with Lio Rush) in a WWE World Cup Quarterfinal match
– Dolph Ziggler (with Drew McIntyre) defeated Kurt Angle in a WWE World Cup Quarterfinal match
– The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) (c) (with Big Show) defeated The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) (with Xavier Woods) to retain the SmackDown Tag Team Championship
– The Miz defeated Rey Mysterio in a WWE World Cup Semifinal match
– Dolph Ziggler (with Drew McIntyre) defeated Seth Rollins in a WWE World Cup Semifinal match
– AJ Styles (c) defeated Samoa Joe to retain the WWE Championship
– Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) defeated Braun Strowman to win the vacant Universal Championship
– Shane McMahon defeated Dolph Ziggler in the WWE World Cup Final match to be known as the “Best In The World” (McMahon replaced The Miz who was ruled unable to compete)
– D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) defeated The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane) in the main event match
Roman Reigns was originally scheduled to defend his Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman in a Triple Threat Match at Crown Jewel 2018. But he had to relinquish the title before the PPV due to leukemia as Brock Lesnar capitalized on the opportunity.